Campaign filings, economic interest forms will go online in January

How much candidates and elected officials in Irvine get in donations and who’s giving them money will be searchable online starting January.

Currently, interested folks need to request the files in person at City Hall, where they can review or copy the forms.

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to digitize and post online campaign filings and statements of economic interests within one business day of the city receiving them.

People will be able to search online using different queries and to filter the results, making it easier to check the forms than sifting through scans or paper copies. Candidates and officials will be able to submit their forms electronically.

During the last election year in 2012, the city received 356 campaign disclosure statements, some of which consisted of a few pages but others ran to 50 pages. That number will climb because of a state law implemented in January that widens the time before an election that committees must disclose contributions or expenditures of at least $1,000.

The city also gets statements of economic interests from 420 elected and appointed officials, employees and contractors.

A time-consuming task done by hand, the forms will be digitized with the help of a software program that will cost $27,000 annually. The first year comes at a discount of $18,000.

Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Lalloway proposed in September going digital in a push for more transparency.

Requests rarely come in to pull statements of economic interests for city employees, City Manager Sean Joyce said at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Personal information including addresses, phone numbers and signatures will be redacted from the online versions, though unredacted copies of the forms will still be available to view at City Hall.

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